OB/GYNs warn of looming crisis in maternity ward at Kelowna General Hospital

OB/GYNs say a lack of family physicians at Kelowna General Hospital’s maternity ward heightens the risk of pregnant patients being without adequate care.

Nine doctors who work in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Kelowna General Hospital are warning because of a lack of family physicians who can deliver babies, the region faces the collapse of primary maternity care coverage as early as June 1.

In a news release, the nine OB/GYNs, who provide specialized care for high-risk pregnancies and emergency services at the hospital, say they’re also being asked to cover low-risk labour deliveries, which are normally covered by family doctors and midwives.

“If a low-risk patient is delivering and something high-risk or emergency comes along where the obstetrician is urgently needed, they can’t be in two places at once. So it causes some serious concerns around delivering quality patient care and safety,” said Dr. Charlene Lui, the president of Doctors of B.C.

The news release says it puts the OB/GYNs in a position where they will have to choose which patient to care for first, which could result in permanent harm to mother or baby.

“These doctors are sounding the alarm because somebody is going to get hurt, somebody is going to die,” said Gavin Dew, the B.C. Conservative MLA for Kelowna-Mission. “It has gone on for far too long. These smart, talented and trained frontline professionals have not been heard.”

The warning about a looming crisis in the maternity ward at Kelowna General comes on the heels of the pediatric unit announcing it will close for six weeks because of a shortage of pediatricians.

“Kelowna at the moment is really seeing some enhanced challenges compared to other regions of the province and the country,” said Lui.

“This is in every parent WhatsApp group in Kelowna and in the Okanagan. Everyone is talking about this, everyone is scared by this, everyone is angry about this,” said Dew.

“We obviously need appropriate staffing levels. We obviously need operational changes. But the most important thing that needs to happen is that government needs to start listening to the frontline medical professionals who are the boots on the ground dealing with this crisis,” he added.

“We do have concerns that Interior Health is downplaying how serious these issues are and how they can negatively affect patients in the community and the physicians working in the hospital,” said Lui.

Contacted for comment, Interior Health acknowledged there has been a “prolonged shortage of primary care providers who support maternity care” in the region.

The health authority said the issue is being exacerbated because three family doctors from the Central Okanagan Maternity Clinic, who had been helping with deliveries at Kelowna General, are resigning at the end of the month.

That will force specialists at the hospital to deal with up to 40 more births per month until replacements are found, officials said.

“We continue to meet with the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and we are working to address concerns raised by medical staff KGH, including their request for increased compensation,” Interior Health told CTV News, in a statement.